What Viacom's loss to YouTube means for Hollywood
The Google geeks have beaten Hollywood chic. But how much will Wednesday's court ruling against Viacom in its $1 billion copyright battle over YouTube tip the balance of power from professional content creators to online distributors?
In ruling on summary judgment that the Google-owned video-sharing site is protected from liability by a safe-harbor provision in copyright law, U.S. District Court Judge Louis Stanton has sent a clear message:
If user-generated video sites implement reasonable takedown procedures, they are shielded from infringement lawsuits based on the content that users upload. "If a service provider knows of specific instances of infringement, the provider must promptly remove the infringing material," Stanton wrote in the opinion. "If not, the burden is on the owner to identify the infringement."
